This app can sniff out a fake designer bag

Let's face it, it's much easier and faster to shop online — especially when it comes to bagging your favourite designers. E-commerce sites are limitless, and at times more affordable, but they all come with the precarious question of authenticity. And with a slew of designer consignment shopping options available on the Internet, it can be difficult sieving out the real deals from the phonies. Distinguishing an authentic designer bag from a well-tailored fake involves counting stitches, dissecting the leather's grain and studying print patterns, which honestly no one has time for.

So here comes Entrupy, a New-York based tech startup app that comes with a handheld microscopic camera. Its camera magnifies the object about 260 times, and can detect special traits or features — be it misshapen stamp marks or paint overruns — often naked to the human eye. This is all then projected onto the Entrupy app, which then renders whether your next buy is legit or an utter scam. As more and more users get on board to upload new photos of authentic or (unfortunately) fake goods, the app's database also grows to enhance and improve its searchability function.

This ingenious fashion-crime fighting device was only made possible with a little backing from The Fifth Collection — Singapore's online retailer for vintage luxury fashion and accessories. The only company in Asia to use Entrupy, The Fifth Collection helped to develop the system's features. "The secondhand luxury goods industry is all about empowering consumers, and fear of counterfeits is one of the industry's main impediments. We are proud to have invested and helped developed the leading scientific solution to this limitation — and put Singapore at the forefront of our industry and the battle against counterfeits," says Nejla Matam-Finn, founder of The Fifth Collection.

How to tell if that Hermès Birkin is worth emptying your bank account for? Easy, count on Entrupy to sort that out for you.